Usually thinking about the X Games a week later brings back fond memories and inspirational moments. Although we still have that, the mood is clouded by sad news. Snowmobile and ATV rider Caleb Moore has died. The world of action sports will miss him, and the X Games may not be the same.

I debated whether I should continue with my usual wrap-up of the best moments. The answer is yes. Caleb was doing what he loved, and let’s celebrate his life and accomplishments, along with all the others at the X Games.

Best Female Athlete – Jamie Anderson(Snowboard)
This is her tenth X Games appearance, and look at how far she has come. From racing Boarder X with her sister to getting back-to-back golds in Slopestyle, Jamie is just unstoppable. Whatever sort of zen she reaches while hugging trees is evident on the course with her smooth riding and flawless tricks.
Best Male Athlete –Henrik Harlaut (Ski)
Henrik not only stomps his first triple cork, but he nose butters it. Those little touches of style is what makes a stand-out athlete and why he medaled in both Big Air and Slopestyle. Best of all though is his giant smile. This guys is out there having a good time, and that is how things should be.

Newcomer to Watch – Ayumu Hirano (Snowboard)
I’ve said a lot about him already, and the clip below does a good job of highlighting his amazing skills. If you didn’t know who he was at the beginning of the SuperPipe finals, you definitely knew him afterward.

Most Dramatic Finals – Snowboard Big Air
For the second year in a row, Snowboard Big Air made me want to run around and scream. Instead my facebook friends got a ramble of things that made no sense to them until I related it to watching a dramatic movie or TV show. The odds were against Torstein Horgmo and Mark McMorris, but when the time came to deliver or walk away empty-handed, they gave us new tricks. Which brings me to the next category…

Best Trick – Torstein Horgmo’s switch backside triple cork 1440 (Snowboard)
It’s easy to get tired of the spinning, but when you think about what switch means (the analogy X Games commentators love to use is throwing a fastball with your non-dominant hand), you have to be impressed by the skills and the balls it takes to pull a trick like Torstein’s.

Best Moment Outside Competition – Tucker Hibbert gets his first professional haircut in 15 years
At first, I was wondering why was this even an article, but the story behind why he wound up at Uncle Jack’s Parlor is really amusing. His crew member’s buzzcut is too.

Most Educational Moment – How many rotations are in a 1980? (Ski)
Freeskiing has progressed so quickly that I had to start doing math again to keep up with the tricks. Alex Schlopy’s 1980 attempt required him to do a whopping five and a half rotations (which he completed but did not land).

Greatest Comeback – Levi LaVallee (Snowmobile)
For the past two years, we’ve seen (or rather heard) Levi in the booth, but he has returned to the sled in good form. He took home two golds (Freestyle and Speed and Style) and was going to enter the two more snowmobile events before tearing a muscle in his back. Nonetheless, he is back in action!

Most Inspirational – Elena Hight (Snowboard)
I’m a firm believer that girls can do anything the guys can, and Elena proved that to be true by stomping the trick that has eluded Shaun White, a double backside alley-oop rodeo. This wasn’t the first time she’s done something major: she was the first woman to do a 900 at just the age of 13. On top of going big, she promotes eco-friendly style with Repreve and is on the Boarding for Breast Cancer Team. She’s an excellent role model for both young women and men.

Lifetime Achievement Award – Caleb Moore (Snowmobile)
Even though this was only his third X Games, Caleb and his brother Colten have done so much for freestyle snowmobiling. No one thought these ATV riders from Texas would place very high, but they have proven to be both skilled and memorable. Caleb’s tricks were always impressive (check out his rock solid in the footage below), and he was working hard to get a gold. He embodied the determination and joy that is a part of the action sports lifestyle. Ride on, Caleb.From Rockstar Energy Drink USfacebook page

Saturday was a very busy day, especially in snowboarding. There was a lot of drama and sick tricks. I’ve got a lot of notes so let’s not waste any time.

However, I do want to give an update on Caleb Moore, who crashed on Thursday. He underwent surgery for a heart contusion and then suffered complications involving his brain. Current updates say that he’s still in critical condition. My heart goes to him and his family. Let’s all hope for better news tomorrow.

Ski thoughts

Why is it called Round 1 when Round 2 is the finals?

Gus Kenworthy lands first triple rodeo Japan air in Round 1 of Big Air. Talk about throwing down the gauntlet.

Triples are key again.

Henrik Harlaut’s style is giving him high scores.

1980 is a year, not a trick (unless you’re Alex Schlopy). That’s the equivalent of five and half rotations by the way.

Everyone’s reaction to the 1980 attempt: O__O

Henrik is skiing with his goggles backwards and eyes closed. Is there a method to the madness?

Jossi Wells gave us sick style and a nice break from all that spinning.

The Financial District elements crack me up. You’ve got the Deposit, the Down Payment, and the Money Booter. I suppose big investment = high pay off.

Lighting was starting to affect the snowboarders. Only two out of eight landed their second runs, and the highest score was 65. Also, I didn’t realize they had different lenses for different conditions.

Shaun White sketched in beginning of his last run on Cab 270 on rail, and that seemed to throw him off a little. He went down on a double cork.

“Perfect” was the word of the day. Jumps were packed so tightly that you needed to be flawless to complete your run.

Mark looked unfazed by everything.

Max couldn’t better his score, but hey, silver is definitely not bad for a rookie.

Peetu Piiroinen did well until a hand drag. He had a beautiful rodeo, but since he didn’t do a triple (the word of the weekend), it wasn’t enough.

Instead of cruising through his victory run, Mark does a full run that included a cab 1260 double cork and a backside triple cork 1440. He wound up improving his score to a record-breaking 98. He also looked really good on the rails.By Brett Wilhelm /ESPN Images (viaX Games official site)

Jamie Anderson was spotted hugging a tree in the beginning of Women’s Slopestyle. It’s her form of meditation apparently.

Enni Rukajärvi had first full run of the day, and she was grabbing with a broken wrist.

Rookie Aimee Fuller went for broke on backside 7 but wipes out.

You gotta spin both ways to get the points. Cab and frontside look too similar in Sina Candrian’s run

Enni was really good but reverbed at Money Booter, and the judges (along with the course) are just as hard on the ladies about little mistakes.

I wonder if more girls are going to meditate next year. It seemed to put Jamie in the zone.
By Matt Morning / ESPN Images (viaThe Ski Channel)

Later on in the evening, Elena Hight stomped the first ever backside double alley-oop rodeo in a contest! No one else has that trick except Shaun White, and he hasn’t landed it in contest. That ought to shut up the people who say women’s snowboarding is boring.

Kelly Clark answered the challenge with a frontside 1080.

Rookie and alternate Ariel Gold had a sick cab 900.

“The girls want to rip, and the girls are ripping.” – Gretchen Bleiler (who needs to be a commentator when she’s not competing)

Kaitlyn Farrington got points for committing on her grabs.

Gretchen was recovering from a shattered eye socket and concussion

Torah Bright’s strategy this year is “totally boarding”: doing all three snowboarding events. It’s really helping with her versatility and confidence.

Wax tech = god (according to Gretchen)

Not perfect conditions b/c pipe slopes

Kelly has more technical difficulty and high amplitude, as well as no set ups.

Great amplitude from Hannah Teter

Kelly’s 1080 was 14 feet high. It was really hard to determine whether hers or Elena’s was better, but in the end, technicality ruled over innovation. Check out Kelly’s blog post about the finals.

People are using “double rodeo” and “double cork” interchangeably. I thought they were different?

Prediction Status: 3/6Quote of the Day: “Wait, those are girls?!” – my mom, midway through Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle finalsTrick of the Day: Henrik Harlaut’s nose-butter double cork 12By Josh Duplechian/ESPN Images (viaX Games official site)Question of the Day: What IS the difference between a double rodeo and a double cork?

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